


Man's Best Friend

by IBoatedHere



Series: Post Bleachers: Domestic Bliss [3]
Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dogs, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 22:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6212221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IBoatedHere/pseuds/IBoatedHere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben and Caleb get a dog. </p><p>It's exactly as fluffy and ridiculous as you'd think it would be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Man's Best Friend

Ben comes home, scans the apartment and almost drops his coffee. 

Lying casually on the couch is the biggest dog he has ever seen. 

It’s stretched out the entire length of the couch with it’s giant head resting on one arm rest and it’s tail spilling off the other. It’s fur is black, thick, and matted against its side. 

“Oh my god.” He jumps and yanks the headphones from his ears. 

The dog opens his mouth and pants, tail thumping against the couch cushion. 

“Oh my god,” He repeats, not knowing what else to do. “Umm. Oh my god.”

The door pushes open behind him and Caleb comes in with an armful of shopping bags.

“Hey,” He says brightly. “You’re home early.”

“Hey, there’s a fucking bear in here.”

“It’s a dog.”

“I know it’s a dog. What is it doing here? Why? Where did it come from? Why’d you leave it here? What is all that stuff?”

“Shhh,” Caleb drops the bags on the table and the beast rolls off the couch and walks over, nails clicking across the floor, tail wagging, and drooling. Caleb puts both hands on Ben’s arms and rubs them up and down. “I found him outside the coffee shop. He was just walking back and forth with his head down, it was so sad, he looked so lost. Everyone was coming in asking if he belonged to anyone and no one claimed him. We watched him out there for an hour. Finally I went out to give him some water- I should’ve given it to him sooner,” He looks down at the dog and pats his head. He leans into the touch, resting his massive head against Caleb’s hip. “I’m sorry buddy. Anyways, the manager on duty is a real animal lover so she let me go early so I could bring him home.”

“I…”

“What was I supposed to do? Leave him out there so he could get hit by a car or abused by some asshole. Look at him.” Ben does. The dog is putting on some of the saddest eyes he’s ever seen. Caleb scratches behind his ear and they’re immediately full of life again. “Don’t you think he’s been through enough?”

“What is all that stuff?”

“He’s going to need food and toys, I got some shampoo for him because he kind of stinks but that’s not his fault,” He says quickly. “I got a bed for him down in the jeep. I had to buy the biggest one. Should we put it under the window so he’s in the sun or do you think that’s too drafty.”

“There’s no draft coming through these windows, they’re brand new. Do you think you’re keeping him?”

“Yes. Why wouldn’t we? He can protect the place.”

“He didn’t even bark at me when I came in, he just sat there.”

“Maybe he knew to trust you. Dogs have that instinct, you know.”

“You just found him wandering. Maybe someone is looking for him.”

“He doesn’t have a collar.”

“Maybe he slipped out of it. Maybe he’s one of those dogs that’s been missing for months and shows up a thousand miles away from home.”

“Or maybe someone dumped him.”

“You should put up fliers. Or take him to the vet. Maybe he has one of those chips.”

“What if he doesn’t and no one is looking for him? We’re not putting him in the humane society. Some dogs sit there for years and years, and those are the lucky ones.”

“I’m not saying you have to do that…”

“Can we keep him, please?”

“I’m not your mother, you don’t have to beg me to keep him.”

“That’s a yes then.”

“But-.”

 _“But._ You sound like my mom.”

“You should think about how you’re going to take care of him. I’m in class all day some days and you have two jobs. Is it fair to him to let him sit inside all day?”

“I’ll figure something out. They have doggy day care.”

“You don’t even know if he’s good with other dogs.”

“You don’t know he’s not. You’re trying to talk me out of this.”

“I refuse to fight with you about a dog. I just want you to think it through. And don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Someone could still come forward and claim him. He could have a family looking for him. There could be kids looking for him. You want to take him away from some kids?”

“I’m a kid.”

“You’re almost twenty. You work two jobs and pay taxes. You’re not a kid anymore. Hey,” He puts his hand on the side of his face, thumb brushing against the corner of his mouth where it’s turned downward. “I’m just saying that I think you should make sure he doesn’t belong to anyone. What if you lost your pet and someone took him and didn’t do anything to contact you.”

“And if no one comes to get him?”

“Then I guess you have a dog.”

“Then _we_ have a dog.”

“Okay,” Ben claps Caleb on the back and skirts around the dog. It doesn't work. The dog rams his head into his thigh, demanding to be pet and leaving a huge drool mark. “You should give him a bath and I’ll figure out which vet we should go to. Are you sure you can even have dogs in this apartment?”

“Yup. It was in the lease. I’m surprised you didn’t read that.”

Ben did read it. Cover to cover, twice. He didn’t know Caleb had. 

 

*****

 

The dog doesn't have a microchip.

The vet hasn’t heard of anyone that’s missing him but she promises to call around and let them know if she hears anything back.

He’s a purebred Newfoundland, around two years old, one hundred and forty five pounds (Ben stares wide eyed at Caleb and Caleb buries his face in the dog's fur) and in perfect health. 

“Dogs like this are a lot of work. Grooming alone is enough to make people think twice and the drool,” The vet laughs as she wipes the dog's mouth with a cloth. “But they’re very loving and very gentle. Big teddy bears. They love the water. He seems to be very well trained. Someone cared for him at some point.”

“And then they just dumped him,” Caleb says, anger rising in his voice. The dog seems to sense it and flops his head back against his shoulder.

“You don’t know that yet, Caleb.”

“Unfortunately I see this kind of think all too often. He’s lucky you found him. He obviously loves you.”

She looks over to Ben who is watching them with a set jaw.

“But I will keep an eye out for someone looking for him. I’ll call around to other vets and the humane society for you. Sometimes owners show up there to see if there dog has been turned in. Fliers might be a good idea too. If you end up keeping him I can give you some paperwork about the breed so you know what you’re getting into. You should also come back so I can put a chip in him, that way this won’t happen again.”

“We’ll do that, definitely.” Caleb gathers the leash and the vet pats Ben on the back and tells him ‘good luck.’ 

 

*****

 

Caleb makes him drive home so he can look up the breed online. 

“They can get up to one fifty so we got off easy. But he doesn’t look like he’s been eating so we can fatten him up. They love the water, they love it. I can bring him on the boat with me. You know the owner used to bring his dog, people loved it. They used to be used for water rescues, look it,” He jams the phone in Ben’s face. “This one has a life jacket on.”

“I can’t look, I have to drive.”

“Where do you think I can get one of those? This says they have webbed feet so they’re really powerful swimmers,” He turns in his seat and holds the dog’s paw. “Oh my god, look at it. It’s like a duck. Ben, look.”

“Caleb, please. I have to drive.”

He can feel Caleb’s eyes on the side of his head but he keeps his on the road. Slowly Caleb drops the paw and faces front.

“You really don’t want to keep him, do you?”

“I never said that.”

“You don’t have to,” Caleb snaps. “I know you. I know this body language and that tone. Maybe you’ll get lucky and whatever asshole dumped him will want him back, will that make you happy?”

“I want you to be happy but I don’t want you getting attached too quickly. You’re already bringing him to work and buying a life jacket for him. There’s still a possibility that someone will come looking for him and that they won’t be an asshole. Maybe he got out of the yard.”

“They should’ve been more careful. They should’ve been watching him.”

“Mistakes happen, Caleb. There’s no point in worrying one way or the other. We don’t know what’s going to happen but I want you to be prepared to say goodbye.”

 

*****

 

“Can we keep him off the couch. He has his own bed for a reason.”

“Like this couch is so special. It still smells like pot.”

“Do you want it to smell like pot and dog.”

“The dog smells great,” Caleb shoves his face into his fur. “I just gave him a bath and I got all the snarls out.”

“Caleb, please.”

“Fine, fine,” Caleb pushes himself up and points to the ground. The dog jumps off and pads over to his bed. “Sorry buddy,” Caleb wraps his arm around Ben from behind then leans up to whisper in Ben’s ear. “Daddy’s grumpy.”

“Oh, no no,” He unwraps himself from Caleb. “You don’t ever need to call me Daddy again.”

“What, you don’t like it,” Caleb teases, trying to kiss him. 

“I hate it and I will leave you.” 

Caleb bursts out laughing and Ben finally lets him close. “I won’t do it again.”

“Good.”

They kiss in the kitchen, slowly, heartbeats keeping time with the steady thump of the dog's tail against the floor boards. 

 

*****

 

Ben prints out fliers which Caleb begrudgingly posts all over the city. Ben can’t walk from one class to the next without seeing at least three stuck to telephone poles or trees or plastered to garbage bins. 

He even posts it on Facebook. It gets four hundred likes and twice as many shares. 

Weeks go by without a call. The vet calls them to tell them she hasn’t heard anything and she’s been calling everyone she can think of in the tri-state area. 

The fliers start peeling away until there’s nothing left but the paper that was stuck under the tape. 

“Should we make more?” Caleb asks over dinner. 

It’s been a month and a half. No one is looking for this dog.

“No,” Ben says and then his chair is knocked back from the table because Caleb is climbing into his lap. 

His glass gets knocked over, the fork ends up on the floor, and the dog is barking but Caleb is kissing every inch of his face so it’s hard to feel anything other than content. 

 

*****

 

Caleb runs through every name he can think of for the dog. 

None of them seem to stick.

He even buys a book of baby names that looks strange on the shelf next to all the travel guides. 

“I wonder what his name was before we got him? I wish I knew what his life was like. Do you think he’s happier here?”

Ben looks up from the table at the two of them. Caleb’s sitting cross legged on the floor with the dog's head in his lap. 

Caleb’s carding his fingers through the hair on the dog’s head and massaging his back. 

“I don’t know if there’s a dog alive that’s happier than him right now.”

Caleb’s smile is beautiful.

 

*****

 

“Sturges.”

“What’s that.”

Ben's in the shower and Caleb is brushing his teeth at the sink. 

“That’s what I’m going to name him,” Caleb tells him around his toothbrush. Ben opens the shower curtain wide enough for him to see out and Caleb makes a show of looking at the bare skin he can see. They don't have time for anything else, Caleb is already five minutes late for work. 

“Is that a fish?”

“That’s….sturgeon.”

“Then what is a Sturges?”

“It’s a name!”

“It's a funny name.”

Caleb spits into the sink and jams his toothbrush into the holder. 

“I have to go, I'm going to be late.”

“Are you mad?” 

“I'll see you later.”

*****

Between his 10:30 Econ class and his shift at the student union Ben finds a pet store and makes a name tag for Sturges. 

Caleb's in the kitchen with Sturges at his feet waiting for something to fall off his plate and onto the floor. Caleb looks up, makes eye contact then looks back down. 

“I got you something,” He takes out the tag, shaped like a paw print- red, and slides it across the counter. “Did I spell it right?” 

Caleb looks it over and the corners of his mouth tugging up. He nods and holds out the fork for Ben to take a bite. 

 

*****

“I think it's awesome.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Nathan says. “Sturges. It's strong and sturdy. That's the kind of dog I want pulling me back onto the boat when I fall overboard. Like, do you want some weakling named Max or Sammy or Bailey or do you want a badass named Sturges? I know what I want.” 

The vet doesn't even blink an eye. 

She ushers them in for Sturges latest a vaccines and to put on the microchip telling them how unique the name is with no sarcasm in her voice or a funny look over Caleb's head. 

 

*****

 

Caleb signs him up for doggy day care. 

The first meeting went great but now he has to leave him for the whole day while he’s at work and Ben’s in class. 

“This is what I imagine it’s like when parents send their kids off to school for the first time. I’m actually sweating.”

“He’s going to be fine.”

“What if no one likes him? What if he gets picked on?”

“He’s a hundred and fifty pounds, no one is going to pick on him.”

“If you say so,” Caleb leans in and kisses him quick. “We have to go, we’re going to be late.”

“You’re adorable, have a good day.”

“Love you.” 

*****

Caleb sends him text after text updating him about Sturges’ first day. 

_I’m watching him on the live feed on breaks and a few times while I’m on at the counter._

_He’s doing so well._

_Everyone loves him._

_I’ve showed him to like, six customers. They all said he’s amazing._

The next text is the link. Ben sighs and clicks on it.

It’s easy to spot Sturges in the middle of everything. There’s a group of dogs around him running in circles and running between his legs. 

He looks like he’s having fun.

Caleb comes home with him at the end of the day where he flops on his bed and stays there for the rest of the night. 

 

*****

 

Caleb takes him to work with him out on the boat. He looks ridiculous in his life jacket and Ben snaps at least two dozen pictures of them with his phone before they leave. 

“He did so well. You should’ve seen him, you can, I have pictures and videos.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t send them to me.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise. He stayed right by my side, it was like he knew what to do. It was amazing. Everyone loved him.” He kisses Ben who was too distracted by the story to remember to push him away and demand he shower. He tastes like salt. “There were some kids on the boat today and in the beginning they were complaining that they were bored and it was going to suck but ten minutes out they figured out Sturges likes to catch the water that comes off the pole when you reel something in and they thought that was great. They each caught three fish. Their parents loved it. They loved it. My boss loved it,” He sighs and rests his forehead at the base of Ben’s throat. “It was a good day. I’m really happy right now.”

Ben's rubs his back and kisses the top of his head. 

“Come on,” He takes his hand and pulls. “You need a shower.” 

“And where are you going?”

“I need a shower too.” 

_“So happy.”_

 

*****

 

“Your dogs is the greatest. Seriously.”

Nathan’s flat out on the floor playing with Sturges. Sturges keeps batting his paw against Nathan’s face and Nathan bats it back. 

“You have like, the perfect life, man. You have a great relationship, a great dog, a great apartment. You have it together.”

“I’m hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and I have no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

“Don’t nit-pick. God,” He grabs Sturges face and kisses him. Ben scrunches up his nose. “You are the greatest dog ever.”

“If you think he’s so great you can go play with him.”

“Are you kidding, I would love to.”

“There’s his leash and there’s a bucket full of tennis balls by the door. There’s a dog park-.”

“I know where the dog park is.”

“Do you go down to the dog park by yourself sometimes?”

“Don’t say it like that.”

“Nathan.”

“It’s not creepy. I just like to look at the dogs.”

“Oh my god.”

“You know what, whatever,” Nathan gives him the finger as Sturges bounds for the door. “I’m doing you a favor.”

“And I’m very thankful.”

Nathan comes back two hours later with Sturges dragging behind him. 

He dunks his head in the water bowl then trails water all the way to his bed where he curls up and immediately falls asleep. 

“Did you have fun?”

“So much fun. Did you know women are drawn to men with dogs? I had no idea. My phone is full of numbers. As soon as one would leave another would come up to me. It was incredible. Sturges is a better wingman than you could ever be.”

“You're more than welcome to take him anytime.” 

Nathan’s already texting someone. “I will take you up on that.” 

 

*****

 

Sturges loves the snow. He slides into it at the park and lies on his back as other dogs launch themselves off him. 

 

*****

 

They put up a Christmas tree mid-December. 

Ben points a finger sternly at Sturges and warns him to leave it the hell alone. 

Caleb makes a promise that he will and keeps hanging ornaments. He puts the Our First Apartment ornament up high and right next to the one with Sturges’ picture on it. 

Ben keeps the best ornaments (the ones that belonged to his mother) in the box. 

 

*****

 

“What the hell was that?”

A bump in the night wakes them both up. 

“Twenty bucks says it was the Christmas tree,” Ben says into the darkness. 

“Dammit.”

Ben joins him in the living room to help him hoist the tree back up. Sturges is in his bed, slowly wagging his tail and looking guilty as sin. 

“I knew keeping the good ones off was a good idea.”

“You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would.”

“I'm tired. It'll hit me in the morning.”

It does when Ben steps on an ornament they missed last night. 

 

*****

 

On their way to get coffee they’re stopped by a woman and a little blonde girl who excitedly shouts “Pony!” and rushes up to hug Sturges. 

The woman apologizes and apologizes but Caleb waves her off and says it happens all the time. Ben leaves the four of them on the sidewalk and ducks into the cafe to grab their drinks. 

He watches them talk through the window. The little girl is practically riding Sturges like a pony and he's wagging his tail and trying to turn his head so he can lick her face. The girls giggle cuts right through the glass window into the coffee shop, loud and innocent and few patrons turn to watch with soft smiles on their face. 

The mother is talking to Caleb, her hand on his arm and Ben remembers what Nathan had told him; men with dogs are like a magnet. 

It's not jealousy, he tells himself as he pays and waits for their order, but it's something. 

When he joins them on the street the girl is kissing Sturges face and the mother still has her hand on Caleb and Ben feels like a complete idiot when he shifts both cups to one hand and slides the other palm to palm against Caleb's. 

It starts to snow as they walk home. 

 

*****

 

They host Christmas. 

Nate and Sam drive in from Long Island and Nathan's parents are spending the holidays in the Bahamas so he shows up too.

Sarah flies out. 

They tell her they'll pick her up from the airport but she dismisses them. 

“You two are so busy. I'll take a cab, it's no problem.” 

She shows up at the door at 6:45 with hugs that go on and on and t-shirts that say _Someone in California Loves Me._

Caleb whips his into his room and Ben puts his on right away, ignoring Caleb's look of disgust. Instead he revels in Sarah's attention, the way she pats the side of his face and says to Caleb “isn't he handsome. You've grown up so much, the both of you,” she tugs both of them into her arms again. “I've missed you both so much.”

Then she sits on the floor and wraps her arms around Sturges and calls him handsome too and Ben feels the glow leave him a bit. 

“I wish your father could be here. He'd love this guy.”

Sturges drools all over her pants. 

“But he's,” She trails off and looks a little sad. A little worried. John is stationed overseas. It's classified, Sarah doesn't even know where or when he'll be home.

“He's okay wherever he is.” Caleb says. “I'm glad you're here.” 

With her help they pull together a meal and eat it while laughing and sharing stories around the table. Sturges happily chews on the squeaky toy that Sam brought him. 

After dinner they watch It's a Wonderful Life, Sam on the floor next to Sturges who is sitting directly on Nate's feet and the rest of them squished onto the couch, Caleb's arm around Ben to make room. 

 

*****

“I need you to pick up Sturges from Doggy Day Care.”

“That is the weirdest sentence anyone has ever said to me.”

“I have an opportunity to pull an extra shift and I need you to pick up Sturges. The place closes at seven.”

“Fine.”

“Just walk in, give your name and they’ll bring him out. You won’t have to pay, that’s all taken care of.”

“I think I can handle it.”

*****

“You must be Ben.” 

Ben doesn’t even get the door closed behind him before a tall woman with a long, black, ponytail and a bright smile is talking to him.

“Yes. I’m here to pick up,”

“Sturges, of course. Caleb already called us and told us you’d be coming in,” She nods to another employee who grabs Sturges’ leash off the wall. The woman’s name tag reads Natalie. “We love Sturges around here. He’s so sweet and gentle, all the other dogs love him. We go back there and he’s got five or six crowded around him constantly. When they take a nap there’s always a few who have to lay their head on him. One lays directly across his body and Sturges doesn’t care at all. So, so, sweet. And Caleb, god, we love him too. You can tell they really love each other. Caleb gets down and kisses him goodbye every time. Everyone thinks he’s so cute. And he could talk about you for hours. He has. We know your whole story, how you met, your road trip cross country. We’ve seen picture after picture of you, that’s how I knew who you were. I wish my boyfriend talked about me like that. You and Sturges are his whole world.”

*****

They’re a few blocks away from daycare when Sturges spots a squirrel and takes off after it. 

Ben’s doesn’t have a good grip on the leash- he never does, Sturges always stays right by him- so it slips out of his hands and he doesn’t recover in time to grab it before he’s across the street and into the park. 

Ben stares dumbly after him, not believing what just happened before he’s running across the street and giving the finger to some asshole that honks at him. 

By the time he makes it over Sturges is gone. He spends the next twenty minutes calling his name and asking everyone he sees if they’ve seen a dog the size of a pony. 

There aren’t any leads and it takes ten more minutes of panic for him to realize he needs to call in reinforcements.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up,” He repeats urgently into the phone. If Nathan doesn’t answer he doesn’t know who he’ll call. He has the numbers of a few of his co workers and the guys from his Ethics class from when they did that group project but he doesn’t have faith that they’d drop whatever they’re doing on a Friday night and help him find his dog.

“Hello?” Nathan sounds sleepy and Ben doesn’t care. 

“What the hell took you so long? I fucked up, Nathan. I fucked up so bad.”

“What’s going on?”

“I lost the dog.”

“What?”

“Sturges. I had to pick him up from daycare and we were walking home and he saw a squirrel or something and I wasn’t holding onto the leash tight enough because he’s never pulled or anything and he took off and I couldn’t keep up and I lost him.”

“Alright, where are you?”

“Corner of Franklin and Chapel street.”

“I’ll be right there. Keep calling for him.”

“That’s all I’ve been doing. He’s not coming back. Caleb...oh my god. Oh my god. I have literally just killed Caleb. He loves that dog so much and I know he thinks that I don’t like him but I do, I love the dog, I think he’s great and I should’ve been acting like it but I’m a total dick sometimes but Caleb is so sweet and Natalie is just-.”

“Who is Natalie?”

“The worker at day care. She just read me a monologue about how much Caleb loves Sturges and me and we’re his whole world and it was beautiful but I just lost half his world and he’s going to kill me then kill himself.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“He’s going to break up with me. No way we survive this. He never thought I cared about him. He’s going to blame me. I don’t want to date anyone else. I won’t. I’ll die alone, if Caleb doesn’t kill me, which he will.”

“Caleb is not-.”

“You don’t understand their bond.”

“Caleb loves Sturges. But he loves you.”

“He won’t. This is it. This is how it ends. I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Hang tight. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

 

*****

 

Nathan finds him in a state of great distress. He’s close to tears.

“It’s going to be okay,” Nathan tells him, calming him down in a way no one else could. Not even Caleb. It’s practiced and nuanced, coming from years of being his best friend. 

They look for a solid hour. Nathan’s voice is hoarse and Ben is shivering. He didn’t dress for a dog-hunt in late January. 

 

*****

 

The walk back to the apartment is somber and silent until Ben breaks it. 

“We were going to get married.”

“What?”

“Well, someday. We haven’t talked about it but that’s the next step, right? And I want to and I’m sure Caleb wanted to and I would buy some rings and I don’t know...make dinner or try to or we’d go out and I’d ask him and he’d say yes,” Ben jams his hands into his pockets and sits down heavily on the front steps. “It would be nice. A perfect ending. What a story we are, right? Even Natalie thought so,” He thinks of Natalie and her bright smile and unending love for every dog that walks through the door. She’ll be crushed to. He drops his head into his hands and Nathan wraps an arm around his shoulder. “You would’ve been my best man, by the way.”

“That would piss Sam off.”

“Yup. That’s why I would do it. I’d probably have my dad and Sam and Caleb could have Abe if he wanted him.”

Nathan laughs but it hurts Ben to even smile. 

“They make those pillows that you can tie the rings to and they wrap around the dog's neck like a collar. This is the worse thing I have ever done. How am I supposed to tell Caleb? I can’t even imagine the look on his face. He trusted me to do one thing and I couldn’t even do it. How could he want to spend the rest of his life with someone like me?” Ben’s voice cracks and he turns his face into Nathan’s shoulder. 

“Sturges is smart. He could still come home. He’s not exactly easy to miss. He has an ID tag and a microchip, someone will find him and turn him in. You’ll get him back.”

“Still, I have to tell him I don’t have him right now. That I lost him.”

“It was an accident. It could’ve happened to anyone. I take him out all the time, it could’ve happened to me.”

“He won’t care.”

“Do you want to tell him it was me? Tell him that you, I don’t know, had to run to the library last minute and you asked me and I lost him.”

What the hell did he do to deserve such a good friend? “I can’t lie to him like that. Plus Natalie saw me.”

“When does he get home?”

“Twenty minutes.”

“We could go look again.”

“I should be here when he gets home. If we’re both gone...Can you stay while I tell him?”

“Sure, man, anything.”

“I’m probably going to need a place to sleep tonight.”

“Don’t- holy shit.”

Ben extracts himself from Nathan who is looking over Ben’s shoulder and starting to laugh. When Ben turns Sturges is sitting five feet away, dopey look on his face, tail going a hundred miles an hour.

“I told you you’d get him back.”

Ben drops to his knees with his arms out on the sidewalk and Sturges rushes forward, knocking Ben back on the ground and licks his face. Ben laughs and laughs and wraps his arms around him.

“I have never been this happy.”

“Now you can get married.”

“I won’t be murdered. I won’t die alone. I won’t break Caleb’s heart,” He sighs heavily and happily then holds Sturges head up so they’re making direct eye contact. “You never do this to me again, do you understand?” Then he looks to Nathan. “This stays between the three of us, okay?”

“So much for not lying to Caleb.”

“It’s not a lie,” He grips the leash so firmly his knuckles turn white. “I’m just leaving out some information.”

“You’ve got some loose morals, Tallmadge. You’re going to make a great politician one day.”

“You’ll still vote for me.”

 

*****

 

They get a pizza when Caleb gets home and Ben gives Sturges his crusts.

Caleb doesn’t say anything, simply raises his eyebrow in question.

“What?” Ben shrugs and slips him another piece. 

 

*****

 

Ben gets sick the beginning of March. 

It starts with a sore throat, mild, but still a nuisance. 

Then it evolves into coughing, sneezing, a runny nose, and body aches. 

He assures Caleb that he’s fine and goes to class until one of his professors kicks him out and sends him home. 

Caleb is on the couch, resting his feet on Sturges, who is also on the couch. Ben doesn't have any fight in him to scold the two of them but Caleb nudges Sturges with his foot and hops down.

“You look terrible.”

“I got sent home. I’m so embarrassed.”

“I told you to stay home.”

“I know, I know. I don’t even feel that-.” He’s interrupted by three sneezes. “I don’t feel that bad.”

“Sure you don’t,” Caleb helps lead him to bed, Sturges following after. “Do you want something to eat?” He sits Ben down on the bed and kneels to pull off his shoes. “I can make you some tea or help you take a shower,” He presses the back of his hand to Ben’s forehead and then to his cheeks. “You’re burning up.”

Ben shakes his head, falls back, and groans. 

Caleb sets a pair of sleep pants and a clean t-shirt next to him on the bed. 

“I’m going to run out and get some medicine for you. Do you want anything special?”  
He wants him to stay. To crawl under the covers with him and for them to sleep for the next five years.

“Cough drops.”

“Sure, I’ll get the ones that taste like candy.”

“Get some candy too.”

Caleb laughs softly then kisses his forehead. “Anything you want. Do you need help changing?” He waits for Ben to shake his head then kisses him again and slips out the door. 

Ben dresses slowly. His whole body screams in protest and when he finally gets his shirt on and gets beneath the covers he feels like he’s run a marathon. 

He closes his eyes and starts to drift off when he feels hot breath on his face. 

Sturges is sitting right in front of him, panting with one paw up on the mattress. 

“Listen buddy,” Ben’s voice is muffled by the pillows. “I can’t take you out right now. You have to wait five minutes for Caleb to come home, I’m about to die.”

Sturges whines and Ben whines back, making the dog tilt his head to the side. 

“You couldn’t have done this before he left? I saw you, you were on the couch with him, you had the opportunity.” 

Sturges responds by putting both front feet on the bed. 

“He’s better with you anyways and you’re better with him. You’ve never run away from him. I lost you once, remember? Stop drooling on my side of the bed.”

Ben reaches out an arm from the warmth of the covers and pushes at Sturges’ chest. Sturges pushes back and jumps clear over Ben and onto the bed, lying down directly next to him with his head on his pillow. 

“No, no, no, no, no.” 

Shoving him is useless. He doesn’t budge. He just stretches out and burrows deeper into the pillow. 

“I don’t like this and I’m not happy about this and when Caleb gets back I’m making him get down,” He mumbles then shivers. Sturges lifts his head and lays it right next to his. He’s so warm, throwing off heat like a furnace and Ben shuffles just a little bit closer. “Why couldn’t he have found a small dog? Or a cat? A cat would be a lot easier,” He tangles a hand into his fur. Caleb had spent hours brushing him when he started to shed. By the time he was done there was enough fur on the ground to make a second dog. “You’re really soft though. And warm,” He throws his arm around Sturges’ middle. Sturges heaves a content sigh. “You make Caleb happy. Really happy. I might have been a _little_ jealous in the beginning, but don’t tell anyone,” He scratches the top of his head and Sturges shuts his eyes. It’s a nice feeling making another living being that happy and safe. He understands what Caleb gets out of it. 

“Well,” Ben lifts his head at the same time Sturges does. Caleb’s in the doorway toeing off his sneakers with a bottle of Tylenol in one hand and a glass of water in the other. “Is this what you two do when I’m not here? I have to admit that I’m kind of jealous.”

Ben laughs and it ends in a cough.

“Shh, shh, shh,” Caleb soothes, crossing the distance and crouching down beside him. Ben flips over and Sturges moves his head so it’s resting on Ben’s shoulder and watches as he takes the pills from Caleb and chases them with a deep sip of water. 

“He loves me,” Ben whispers.

Caleb checks his temperature on his hand again and says “No shit, I’m going to be the thermometer.”

“You really think he loves me?”

“Yes. You should see him when you leave first in the morning. He cries at the door and he’s all mopey. He misses you. Who wouldn’t miss you?”

“I lost him once,” Ben admits and Caleb cocks his head to the side. “When you asked me to pick him up the first time from day care. He saw something and went after it and I lost him. For a couple hours. I had to call Nathan to help me look. We went back to the apartment and Sturges showed up on his own,” He bites his lip and tries to focus on Caleb’s face. It’s fuzzy. The medicine is already kicking in. He can barely feel Caleb’s fingers moving across his forehead pushing his sweaty hair back.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was too afraid. Ask Nathan? I thought for sure you were going to leave me. Nathan was willing to take the fall for me but I couldn’t go that far. I was going to tell you he was gone and then I was going to leave. But then he came back, thank god, and I figured it was best if I kept the whole thing to myself. But I couldn’t keep it in any longer. You also just slipped me some medicine so that’s probably loosened me up a bit. Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“You thought I was going to leave you?”

“I lost the thing you love the most.”

Caleb lays his hand flat on the side of Ben’s face. It’s wonderfully cool against his flushed skin. “You’re such a drama queen.”

“I am not,” Ben snaps.

“Yes, you are,” He stands and climbs easily over both of them to his side of the bed, Ben turns to face him and gets a mouth full of dog fur.

“You’re not mad that I didn’t tell you?”

“No, because I’ve done the exact same thing. Didn’t end up calling Nathan but I have cried on the street over it.”

“You’ve lost him?”

“Yup. He’s a giant but he is quick. We were leaving the dog park and I had the gate open just enough and he was gone. I chased him for miles before I caught up to him and that was only because he got distracted by another dog. Man, as soon as I got that leash on him I broke down. It was awful. The guy with the other dog had to talk me down for like, fifteen minutes. It was terrible.”

“You could’ve told me that.”

“Now we’re even.”

Ben reaches across their dog to hold Caleb’s hand. They rest on his back, moving up and down in time with his breathing.

“I’m glad you found him,” Ben says around a yawn.

“Yeah,” Caleb squeezes his hand. “Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. This was supposed to be a cat story but then Deven (my dear sweet Deven) suggested a dog. I think I saw him and Lily talking about Caleb having this giant dog so I went with that. 
> 
> 2\. My aunt used to have two newfoundland's when I was growing up. I remember her following them around with a rag because they drooled so much. I have a picture of like, four or five year old me standing between them- I'd share it if you're interested. 
> 
> 3\. The dogs name also came from the real Caleb Brewster via Deven. Can you believe he named a kid that? His own child. The other kids got totally acceptable names. 
> 
> 4\. These were all supposed to be mini fics and they keep getting longer and longer.


End file.
